The chemical shown carries a “danger” warning, and was approved to be used on 200 million acres by the Trump administration in 2019. It is said to be dangerous to both bees and endangered species alike.
As the world continues to focus on COVID-19, the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and other similar topics, the world of agriculture has taken a backseat.
Meanwhile, the powers-that-be are continuing to push forward an agenda centered around Roundup Ready genetically modified crops, gene edited crops like the recently harvested GMO non-browning apples from a little known Canadian company in Washington state, and other “modern” agricultural tools.
While these highly toxic and destructive farming inputs are highly profitable for the multi-national corporations that sell them including the new owner of Monsanto, Bayer, one question persists: what are these chemicals and crops doing to our pollinator populations, and the farmers that administer them?
Recently, the opening salvo was fired in a major lawsuit that could have long lasting and dramatic implications for the fate of bee populations everywhere.
And if successful, one of the world’s most toxic countries to bees could suddenly find itself back in the win column again, making progress toward a safer environment for the tiny yet vitally important creatures on which our food supply depends.
Lawsuit Challenges Use of Bee Killing Pesticides
As noted in a report from the Center for Food Safety on its website, the opening brief has been filed in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s expansion of the bee killing insecticide Sulfloxaflor.
The brief was filed by the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity, challenging the EPA’s approval of the substance, which is highly toxic to bees.
The two groups originally filed the lawsuit in 2019 after the administration’s decision to approve the insecticide on 200 million acres.
Big business interests are being placed over the health of the landscape and environment, and something has to change before it’s too late, the groups argued.
A fall 2019 study found that America’s agricultural landscape is now almost 50 times more toxic to bees than before GMOs were introduced, and since these crops’ introduction, pesticide and other chemical use has also risen dramatically.
“Our bees and pollinators are dying, and yet EPA went ahead and allowed another toxic insecticide to be sprayed across America without any care for their well-being.
“We are in court to ensure that our bees can have a chance to survive,” said Sylvia Wu, senior attorney at Center for Food Safety and counsel on the case.
This particular insecticide was originally approved back in 2013 but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its approval for filing to comply with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, aka FIFRA.
Despite these concerns, the 2019 approval of the chemical shocked many, as the EPA’s own scientists reportedly found out that it could threaten honeybee colonies and injure non-honeybees.
The substance also is potentially threatening to endangered species, legal teams have argued.
The 2019 decision means it could be used on the following crops, among others — all the more reason to begin buying them organic, as these crops all are capable of attracting bees that could be harmed of killed by the chemical:
-Citrus fruits
-Squash
-Strawberries
“In the midst of an insect apocalypse, it’s just astounding that the EPA is continuing to fight to expand the use of this poison and can’t even be bothered to consider its impacts on the nation’s most vulnerable bees and butterflies,” said Stephanie Parent, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and counsel on this case.
“Amazing and once common creatures like monarch butterflies and the American bumblebee are now heading towards extinction, and we can’t let the agency get away with this.”
For more information on the lawsuit, including the EPA’s alleged failure to safeguard endangered species, check out the full post from the Center here.
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About Nick Meyer
